Venue: Siambr Hywel Dda, Council Offices, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, LL55 1SH
Contact: Eirian Roberts 01286 679018
No. | Item |
---|---|
APOLOGIES To receive
any apologies for absence. Additional documents: Minutes: Councillors Judith
Humphreys, Keith Jones and Dewi Owen Anest Gray Frazer (Church in
Wales) |
|
DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive
any declarations of personal interest. Additional documents: Minutes: The
following declared a personal interest in Item 7 - Healthy Living Centres:- ·
The Chair, Councillor Beth Lawton - because she was a
Director of Cwmni Byw'n Iach. She was of the opinion that it was a prejudicial
interest, and she withdrew from the chair and left the meeting during the
discussion on the item. ·
Councillor Cemlyn Williams - because he was a Director
of Cwmni Byw’n Iach. He was of the
opinion that it was a prejudicial interest, and he withdrew from the meeting
during the discussion on the item. |
|
URGENT BUSINESS To note any
items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for
consideration. Additional documents: Minutes: None to
note. |
|
The
Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the previous meeting of this
committee held on 22nd November, 2018 be signed as a true record. Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair
signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on 22
November, 2018 as a true record. |
|
FINAL SUMMER RESULTS 2018 PDF 140 KB Cabinet Member – Councillor Gareth Thomas To consider
a report on the above (attached). *10.00am
– 10.45am Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted
– the report of the Cabinet Member for Education detailing the final summer
results for 2018. The
Cabinet Member and officers expanded on the content of the report, and also
responded to questions / observations from the members. The Chair summarised the main conclusions of the discussion as follows:-
·
That the main discussion on this matter
had occurred in September last year when the core data was submitted to this committee,
and only minor comments were made at this meeting. ·
In relation to the Foundation Phase, there
was an understanding that there had been a change in the assessment basis and
that GwE was working with the schools in order to ensure good quality assessment
and ensure support for that. ·
In terms of Key Stage 5, though an
explanation was received regarding the data and what was happening in Gwynedd
and what support was available, considerable disappointment and concern was
raised that the data was not public and there was a need to ensure that members
could assist schools in their roles as governors to ensure that specific
support was provided for specific subjects, as needed. ·
In terms of the change in the English GCSE
grades threshold level, the committee continued to support the Cabinet Member
and the department to campaign in relation to the change which had occurred to
the margin and expressed its disappointment that no solution had been found to
date, particularly for those individuals who possibly did not succeed in
gaining the expected C and B grades last year. Also, the committee wished to
give a clear message that there was a need to ensure that this year's pupils
would not suffer the same situation in any subject. |
|
RESTRCTURING OF LANGUAGE CENTRES PDF 110 KB Cabinet Member – Councillor Gareth Thomas To consider
a report on the above (attached). *10.45am
– 11.30am Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted
- the report of the Cabinet Member for Education seeking the opinion of the
members on the options for restructuring the Language Centres as a result of
the budget deficit from 2019/20 onwards, along with the observations submitted
as part of the consultation. The
Cabinet Member and officers expanded on the content of the report, and also
responded to questions / observations from the members. The Chair summarised the main conclusions of the discussion as follows:-
·
That the committee was grateful for the
update regarding what had happened with the internal consultation and that
there was a clear appreciation of the work undertaken by the language centres
and their success. ·
That there was no clear message from this
committee regarding the solution to the financial deficit. However, there were
clear messages to be presented for the department's attention in four fields,
namely:- Ø Concern was conveyed by the committee that none of the principles
included ensuring that the quality of the provision was maintained in the
future and the committee stressed the need to hold an equality impact
assessment on the preferred option, and that there may also be room to measure
the quality and the impact of change on the provision from now on. Ø Some concern was noted regarding the possible change in the workload of
those working in the language centres, but it was also noted that this concern
applied to the entire range of services provided by the Education Department in
all schools and that the pupil / teacher ratio in every class was also a matter
that needed to be addressed. At the same time, there was emphasis on the need
to have two teachers in the Secondary Unit. Ø Support was given to continuing with discussions in an attempt to
persuade Welsh Government to continue to give more funding to support the Welsh
language from now on. Ø It was accepted that the grant would be cut and although everyone would
prefer if that were not the case, the committee encouraged the department to
look at any other potential sources, whether additional grant funding or from
whichever source. Nevertheless, it was fully accepted that the schools had
taken substantial and continued cuts for some time now and, although it was an
option, the committee did not wish to look to the schools to fund this. In
addition, the risk regarding the possibility of what was going to happen in the
future was raised, as GwE was looking further at this grant. |
|
HEALTHY LIVING CENTRES PDF 56 KB Cabinet Member – Councillor Craig ab Iago To consider
a report on the above (attached). *11.30am
– 12.15pm *estimated
times Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted
- the report of the Cabinet Member for Housing, Leisure and Culture updating
the scrutiny committee on the progress made against the approved business case
for transferring the healthy living centres to a Council-controlled company and
offering an outline of the arrangements in place to address the observations
made by this committee at its meeting on 26 September 2017. The
Cabinet Member and officers expanded on the content of the report, and also
responded to questions / observations from the members. The Vice-chair summarised the main conclusions of the discussion as
follows:- ·
That there was a better understanding of
the developments following this item to the committee, particularly in terms of
the agreement, the relationship with the Council, the governance arrangements
and the financial side also. ·
Responses were provided to a number of
questions on specific issues in relation to the situation with libraries,
schools, grants etc. ·
A response was also given to the issues
raised in September 2017 and the committee did not have any further specific
observations to make. ·
That the committee was of the opinion that
a communication plan should be created in order to ensure that the residents of
Gwynedd were aware of the forthcoming plans. ·
Assurance was needed that the requirements
in terms of the Welsh language were a part of the agreement and that it would
be scrutinised by this committee. |